Silence of the Lamb
by Owlsight22
Summary: There hasn't been a white kit with blue eyes in so long... the prophecy has almost been forgotten. Just a whisper in the oldest elders mind. Starclan hasn't forgotten. After all, it wasn't spoken by one of them. That's the part that bothers them the most. A dark forest cat spoke of a white cat with blue eyes who will either save the clans or destroy them.
1. Prologue

A brown and ginger tom ran through the twisted trees, leaping over fallen logs, dodging the claws of other cats. A dark tabby leaped for him and he ducked. He broke through a barrier of thorns and slowed to a walk, panting. A golden tom jumped out of a nearby tree and stalked over. "Sparrowstrike, what did you learn?" He glanced at the border where a few cats paced.

"A prophecy... White kit... Blue eyes... Save the clans... Or destroy them..." The tom spoke between gasps. "What? Who received this... this prophecy?" "A she-cat... white... black... Scar across her face..." "Splitmask" The tom growled. "Do we know who the prophecy is about?" "No, Waspstrike there are no white kits in the clan. At least with that description." A brown she-cat had padded over. "Sparrowstrike, go rest and get some water. I'll bring you a mouse." Sparrowstrike nodded. "Thanks, Acorndawn" Sparrowstrike padded away.

"Why did you send him? He could have been killed!" Acorndawn hissed "He's one of the fastest cats here, I chose him for that reason." Waspstrike sat looking at the border with the Darkforest. Only a tom remained, the dark tabby sat at the border glaring at the Starclan cats. As if daring them the cross. "Why did we even need a spy over there?" Acorndawn questioned. Waspstrike sighed. "If we didn't have a spy we wouldn't have learned about the prophecy. Why they got the prophecy and we didn't I will never know."

"Because we're better!" The brown tabby yelled across the border. Acorndawn sighed. "Let's move farther away from the border. The other cats will want to know." Waspstrike nodded. As they padded away he couldn't help but look back at the brown tabby.

* * *

**Many seasons later**

"A tom and she-cat" Birchfall announced. Blazerunner stopped his pacing and hurried into the den. There they were, his mate and kits. The tom looked like Dawnpelt, his dark ginger stripes the same color as hers. The she-cat was white with light grey stripes, paws, and muzzle. "They're beautiful."Blazerunner purred "What should we name them?" "Why not Flamekit for the tom?" Dawnpelt purred. "New life comes from destruction," Blazerunner said remembering the forest fire last moon that destroyed half the forest. Dawnpelt nodded.

They both turned their attention to the she-cat. "At the last gathering, I heard from Swiftfeather that the twoleg's sheep have something called a lamb and that they have curly fur. Her stripes make her fur look curly. Lambkit?" Dawnpelt tilted her head the way she did when she was thinking. "I like it." Dawnpelt nuzzled her kits.

* * *

**Starclan_._**

Most of the clan was settled around the Moonpool, staring at the new kits in Thunderclan. "Why do we care?" A grey tabby yelled. "Yeah." a brown tom agreed Waspstrike and Acorndawn exchanged glances. "Should we tell them?" "We have to, they have a right to know." Waspstrike sighed and jumped up on the High rock. "Cats of Starclan, lend me your ears."

"Many seasons ago, There was a prophecy. For some reason, it wasn't given to us. The prophecy was given to" He hesitated "To The Place of No Stars." This caused an uproar. Cats shouting over each other. All-around chaos. It took a few moments to restore order. "What's the prophecy?" "We aren't exactly sure. All we know is that there is a white kit with blue eyes who will either save the clans or destroy them"

"Who?" "We think, since there are no other kits that match that description, that Lambkit is the one." "Now what? We don't want the clans to be destroyed!" "We don't..." "Kill her, get rid of the poisoned kit." A cat interrupted. Another uproar. Half of the clan was for, the other against. A silver tabby jumped up beside Waspstrike. "Quiet!" All at once every cat turned to look at her.

"The prophecy says that she could save the clans, why kill our only known hope at the moment." Starclan looked at one another. "Makes sense," they heard a few cats murmur. Others were nodding. Waspstrike gave her a grateful look. A small kit wiggled through the taller cats around her until she stood before the cats on the Highrock. "What do we do now?" she asked.

Waspstrike looked at all the cats gathered below. "We don't know."

* * *

**Dark forest**

A brown tabby padded through the overgrown bracken, making it rattle. He stepped out into a wide clearing, which is rare for the forest. In the middle, there was a puddle. If you could call it that, it was more mud than puddle but it worked. The murky image of a she-cat with kits curled at her belly was displayed. A few cats were sitting around the edge. Perched on rotting log, peering at the image was a one-eyed tom.

His once light grey fur was tangled and matted. Patchy and crisscrossed with scars. The tabby dipped his head and approached, tail low and ears flat against his head. "Yelloweye," The tom looked up, fixing his one eye on the tabby that had spoken. The eerie yellow eye unnerved the cats, they shifted uncomfortably. "What is it Blizzardpaw?" The tom snapped. "Can't you see I'm finding the kits for the prophecy?"

"I, I'm sorry." Blizzardpaw stammered. "Spit it out." "It's Starclan. Since we found their spy before Splitmask finished the prophecy, they think that it's just about that one kit." His tail flicked to the image of the white kit in the puddle. "Good," Yelloweye nodded "How do we know that the prophecy takes place now?" A brown and ginger tom asked. "Because Kinktail, this is the only time since the prophecy was uttered that there are all the cats that fit it. Lambkit." The image of the she-cat with her kits enlarged until Lambkit was the only one in the picture.

"Darkkit," the image changed to be a black tom. "Ferretkit," The image changed again to be a brown tabby tom with a spirling stripe pattern. "And Splashkit." A blue-grey she-cat with white spots took the place of Ferretkit. "Oh," Kinktail looked at his paws. "Who will be their mentors?" "We have 5 moons to decide that Prickleburr."Yelloweye turned to the black and white she-cat standing in the shadows "Splitmask,"

Splitmask stepped closer, her face becoming clearer in the faint fog. It was clear how she got her name since her face was black, like a mask, and she had a scar going across it diagonally. "Can you repeat the prophecy, for those who may have forgotten." "Of course Yelloweye."

Splitmask paused. "Within the clans, 4 will rise, white and black, brown and blue. Blue eyes, amber, Green eyes, Grey. If taught accurately they will either be saviors or destroyers" Yelloweye nodded. "Good, You are all dismissed." Yelloweye flicked his tail. The group of cats dispersed, vanishing into the tangle of undergrowth. As Blizzardpaw looked back he saw Yelloweye watching the puddle again, swishing his tail impatiently.

* * *

**Thunderclan**

Medicine cat - Birchfall a white she-cat with dark grey stripes

Warriors

Blazerunner a white tom with red and ginger stripes and green eyes.

Queens

Dawnpelt a light ginger she-cat with darker ginger stripes and amber eyes

Lambkit a white she-cat with light grey stripes, muzzle, paws, and blue eyes

Flamekit a ginger tom with darker ginger stripes and green eyes

**Windclan**

Warriors

Swiftfeather a white tom with black patches across his back and on his left eye and right paw

Kits

Ferretkit a brown tabby tom with a spirling stripe pattern

**Riverclan**

Splashkit a blue-grey she-kit with white spots that look like splashes.

**Shadowclan**

Darkkit a black tom with dark grey paws, tail, and ears

**Starclan**

Waspstrike a golden tabby tom with black stripes

Acorndawn a light brown she-cat with darker ears, paws, muzzle, and tail

Sparrowstrike a ginger and brown tom with white paws

Mistspirit a silver tabby she-cat with brown eyes

**Darkforest**

Yelloweye a light grey tangled, matted, patchy tom, crisscrossed with scars.

Splitmask a white and black she-cat with a scar across her face

Blizzardpaw a dark brown tabby with icy blue eyes

Kinktail a brown and ginger mottled tom with a broken tail

Prickleburr a brown and white tom with spiky fur


	2. Ch 1 Dark

**Feathershade - I noticed that too after I posted the story. Hopefully, I fixed it in this chapter.**

**BerryfogTheMedCat - Thank you, and here's what happens next**

* * *

Darkkit watched Falconleap, or more accurately his tail. Waiting on the right moment to attack. "Darkkit, come play with us," Turtlekit called. He sighed, giving up on his mission on attacking his father's tail and went to the other kits. "What are we playing?" He asked as he sat down. The other kits exchanged glances, trying to figure out what to play.

"Why not half of us be warriors and the other be another clan?" Marshkit suggested. "Yeah, I'm gonna be Brackenblaze," Brakenkit said. "And I'm gonna be Marshstar!" "Wait, we can be leaders? I wanna change my name!" "Too late, you can be my deputy," Marshkit suggested. "Ok, What about you Darkkit, Or should I saw Darkstar." Darkkit froze.

_Darkstar, I like the sound of that. I'll be the greatest leader of Shadowclan. _He looked down at his paws, his claws unsheathed and resheathed. "Yeah," Darkkit looked up. "I'm Darkstar, and Turtlekit is my Deputy. Turtlepatch." Turtlekit puffed out her chest. "Turtlepatch. The greatest warrior in Shadowclan." "No, our clan is Shadowclan." "No, we are." "Nu-uh." Brackenkit shook his head.

"Yeah-huh," Brackenkit growled and pounced on his sister. As they play-fought Marshkit and Darkkit started circling each other. Darkkit wanted to unsheath his claws but he forced himself not to. It's a play-fight after all.

_"Let Marshkit make the first move."_

Darkkit paused and looked around him. Nothing. When Darkkit was distracted Marshkit leaped at him. Darkkit wasn't ready and got pinned. _"Be limp, like you've given up. After Marshkit relaxes his grip a little, push him off with your back legs." _Doing what he was told he went limp, and Marshkit relaxed his grip thinking he'd given up. Darkkit paused and pushed up on Marshkit's belly with his back legs, sending him flying.

Marshkit was pushed into Brackenkit making him stumble and Turtlekit swept Brackenkit's leg out and he fell, ending up getting pinned moments later. Marshkit got pounced on and pinned as well. "Shadowclan wins!" Turtlekit declared letting her brother up. Darkkit let Marshkit up and padded over to Turtlekit. "No fair. We were going to win."

"No, we won, so we were going to win." Darkkit rolled his eyes and left the littermates to bicker. He padded over to his brother who was listening to Redscar tell the tale of how Lionclan got their manes.

"And Sunhaze crept into the cave, trying to find the way into the great clan in the sky, oh hello Darkkit. Would you like to listen?" "Sure." Darkkit settled next to Frostkit and perked his ears in Redscar's direction. "Now, where was I. Oh yes, and Sunhaze crept into the cave, trying to find the way into the great clan in the sky. He knew that if he found them they would surely reward him. He padded along the tunnel until he came to a break."

"There were 3 ways, and each was different. The first was extremally dark, he could see nothing. The second one was a bit brighter, but the rocks were tinged red and it had a strange smell. It took Sunhaze a moment to figure it out. It smelled of rot and death. And faintly of blood. The third was the brightest but still dim, it smelled of new-leaf and rain. The rocks were slightly sparkly, like stars. And that path went up. The red path went down and the black one just went straight."

"Sunhaze took the star path and as he walked the ground slowly started getting steeper, steeper and hotter. Sunhaze kept walking and after what seemed like forever the ground leveled out but kept getting hotter. After another eternity a light appeared, it was very faint but it was there. By this time the ground was almost too hot to walk on but Sunhaze kept going."

"The ground got softer and paler, and after Sunhaze ended up only a few fox-lengths away from the exit he noticed. The ground had turned into clouds, clouds that you could walk on. Sunhaze stepped into the light and the clouds turned into a bridge. Half-way across the bridge, the sun was next to it. Making the clouds thinner from its heat, but Sunhaze pressed on. Determined to get a gift for Lionclan, like Leopardclans spots and to tell Lionclan apart from the plain Tigerclan."

"As Sunhaze walked across another cat appeared on the other side of the cloud bridge. He could barely hear what it said, as the wind whistled around his ears, taking away the cat's words. He ended up at the edge of the cloud bridge where it started to get thinner. He placed a paw on it and it held his weight. Sunhaze slowly added another paw. After it held him, he took a step and then another."

"He kept taking steps until he trusted that it could hold him. By that time he was right next to the sun. He heard stories about how cats from the great clan staired at the sun and it burned their eyes and the fur around it, causing them to go blind. He turned his head away and felt the heat of the sun on his neck, singeing his fur. The fur around his neck slowly turning brown as he walked."

"Sunhaze took a step on an extremely thin part and the cloud bridge cracked. It kept cracking and the other side was still so far. The way he came from was closer so he turned and ran. The cracking cloud bridge chasing him as he ran. He ran as fast as he could but the bridge broke under him, sending him tumbling to earth. Sunhaze felt the sun scorching heat and closed his eyes."

"And then what happened." Frostkit interrupted. "I'm getting to it Frostkit. When Sunhaze woke up he was in the medicine cave. Fireflower was standing over him, applying herbs to his burns. Lionclan found him after he fell, and he was still alive. The sun had burned the fur around his neck, and on part of his chest and back. Making it darker colors than the rest of his fur. After he recovered the burned fur grew longer and became the mane we know today."

"Wow, that's a great story." "It is, Now I've been looking for you everywhere. It's time for bed." Frostkit and Darkkit both turned to see Mottlestream standing behind them. "It's that late?" Frostkit asked. As they padded out of the den they saw that it was dusk. Mottlestream led her kits into the nursery and to their nest. Darkkit curled up next to his brother and fell asleep listening to his rhythmic breathing.

* * *

Darkkit woke in a forest. The trees around him are grey. Grey and tall. So tall that Darkkit couldn't see the tops.

"Hello Darkkit," Darkkit turned to see a gray tabby tom. "Who are you?" "Well Darkkit, I am Silverfang. And I..."

"Silverfang, what are you doing?" A matted grey tom growled as he stalked over to Silverfang. "He's not supposed to be here yet." The tom snarled. "But his ambition, he needs to learn how to hide it. Do you want him to end up like Smokeblaze?" "And let me guess you're going to teach him how to do that?" "Well, I would like too..." He trailed off. "Well then, if you're going to be their mentor for that then you can be their permanent mentor." The tom snapped.

As the grey tom turned to Darkkit, he saw that he only had one eye. He looked Darkkit over, turned and left. "Who, who's that?" "Yelloweye, he's like... he's the leader." "Of starclan?" "Tchah! Why do you think were StarClan? That place is full of old cowards, of weak-willed cats who cling to the warrior's code like ants on a leaf in a puddle. You will find a much better society here. Now, follow me. You have much to learn."

* * *

Sparrowstrike padded through the foggy trees of the Place of No Stars, ending up in a patch of bracken at the edge of a clearing. A white and black she-cat with a scar across her face sat in the middle. As Sparrowstrike shifted to find a better place to hear he snaps a twig, causing every cat in the clearing to look at him.

"A spy!" "Get him before he finds out the prophecy!" A brown and white tom leaped for him and he dodged. The she-cat in the middle started speaking. "Within the clans," The tom that had leaped for him hissed interrupting what the she-cat was saying next. "White." Another cat leaped for him scratching his side. "Blue eyes." Sparrowstrike hit the tom across the face and sent him reeling with a scream. "will either be saviors or destroyers." The she-cat collapsed and Sparrowstrike took that as she finished the prophecy.

He turned and ran, leaping over fallen logs, dodging the claws of other cats. A dark tabby leaped for him and he ducked. as he ducked he didn't see the grey tom. The grey tom barreled into Sparrowstrike's shoulder and after a few moments of rolling the other tom pinned him. "Well, well, well, what do we have here. A star-clan cat. What are you doing so far from home kitty?" The tom that had pinned him staired at him with a single yellow eye.

"Nothing, my home's just over there. I just got lost. If you let me go I promise I won't come back." Sparrowstrike flinched as the tom that had pinned him raised his paw, claws unsheathed. The tom lightly drew his claws against Sparrowstrike's neck. "I'm afraid I can't do that." The one-eyed tom brings down the raised paw...

Sparrowstrike wakes up in his nest, Dappletail curled next to him. As he gets up to leave, Dappletail wakes. "Where are you going?" "Out for a walk. I, I had a bad dream." Dappletail slides her tail along Sparrowstrike's side. "I'm sorry, but remember, It's just a dream. It can't hurt you." Sparrowstrike turned and padded out. "You never know." He whispered.

* * *

**So, since there was a mistake in the last chapter concerning the prophecy. I****t says the spy only caught the first part of the prophecy, and they think there is only one kit. Then it goes on to state the description. In the prophecy, it states their descriptions first before mentioning that they will destroy the clans.**

**Well, I hope I fixed that with Sparrowstrike's nightmare about how he didn't get away from the Dark Forest cats.**


	3. Ch 2 Splash

Splashkit sat inside the elder's den, tail curled around her front paws, listening to Wetpuddle tell about how he caught one of the biggest fish the clan has ever seen. He greatly exaggerated, as all the kits could tell. But that's what made his stories fun. He's also the oldest elder in the clans so he often forgot which story he's telling.

"And, and, what was I saying again." "You were telling us about the fox," Pikekit said. "Oh right, the fox. So I followed the fox," The kits around him burst into giggles interrupting his story. "What, was I not telling about a fox?" "No, it was a fish." "Oh, which fish?" "The biggest one ever!" Heronkit stood up on his back paws streching his front paws as wide as they would go.

"It was bigger than that young'un. It was bigger than all of you. It could eat you whole." He poked Heronkit with his paw, and he fell over. "Nu-uh. There's no fish that big." Heronkit rolled on his back. "How big was the fish then?" Pikekit asked, "As big as a cats tail." Wetpuddle flicked Pikekit with his tail. "Not true," Heronkit said.

"I bet it was big, just not that big," Splashkit interjected. "How big do you think it was then Splashkit?" Splashkit drew a line in the dirt, a tail length long. "That big," Wetpuddle added another half a mouse length. "There, that's about right." "That's not big enough to eat a cat," Pikekit whined. "You said it could eat one of us." "I did? Oh, I did." Wetpuddle added another tail length. "Much better."

"Let all cats old enough to swim gather to hear my words!" Splashkit, Pikekit, and Heronkit tumbled out of the elder's den and raced over to their mother by the nursery. "We are gathered here today to appoint two new warriors. Stormstrike, has your apprentice, Whitepaw, learned the skills of a warrior? Do they understand the importance of the warrior code?"

"They have, Whiskerstar."

"Ambersplash, has Snowpaw learned the skills of a warrior and understands the importance of the warrior code?"

"They have,"

"Then, I, Whiskerstar, leader of Riverclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as a warrior in their turn."

"Snowpaw, Whitepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do."

"I do." Whitepaw echoed his sister.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names. Whitepaw from this moment on you will be known as Whiteclaw. StarClan honors your dedication and strength, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Riverclan."

Whiskerstar turned to look at Snowpaw. "Snowpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Snowtalon. StarClan honors your patience and forethought, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Riverclan."

"Snowtalon, Whiteclaw, Snowtalon, Whiteclaw," The clan cheered. It was a happy moment, friends and family going and congratulating the new warriors. Then the Windclan warriors started pouring in, wet from the swim to the island. Riverclan thought this day would never come. The other Clans' fear of water means this camp would never be attacked. All that changed today.

It was mayhem, cats screaming, fur flying, claws glinting in the afternoon sun. Riverclan warriors pushed Windclan to the edge of the island. Most of them turning and retreating, others kept fighting. "Retreat!" The call echoed throughout the remaining Windclan warriors. "Retreat!" Within moments there was only Riverclan.

"Whiteclaw!" The horrifying screech of Snowtalon echoed throughout the camp. Splashkit crept out from the nursery from where her mother pushed her and her siblings. The body of Whiteclaw was lying in a corner of the camp. The stench of blood hung in the air. Whiteclaw's flank rose and fell once more before going still. "No!" Snowtalon shrieked as she buried her nose in her brother's fur.

* * *

The rest of the day went by in a blur. Murmurs of sorrow, of sadness, all-around misery. The whole clan sat vigil for Whiteclaw, Snowtalon sat by herself since it was her warrior vigil as well.

"I can't imagine what it's like, having to sit warrior vigil as well as a death vigil. Poor thing." "I know, and to sit vigil for your own brother? Unthinkable." Splashpaw's ears twitched as she listened to her mother and Brightsky sitting outside the nursery. "It's Windclan's fault you know. If they hadn't attacked," "Whiteclaw would still be here." Brightsky interrupted. "First her mother to greencough, and now Whiteclaw to enemy warriors?" Icewing sighed. "And who knows who her father is. Probably some kittypet or other clanner."

"Which clan then?" "how do you know they're not a kittypet?" "Well, Nightspirit didn't hang around twolegs, that's for sure." "True, and she did hang around Windclan territory a lot." "That would be terrible." "What?" "For Whiteclaw to be killed by a Windclan warrior and their father might be Windclan." "It would," Brightsky and Icewing fell silent, and after a few minutes, Splashkit fell asleep.

**Riverclan**

Leader - Whiskerstar a blue-grey tom with a greying muzzle.

Warriors -

Stormstrike a grey tabby tom with darker grey stripes

Ambersplash a brown and ginger mottled she-cat

Troutstream - a brown tabby tom with green eyes

Snowtalon a black she-cat with white paws

Whiteclaw a black tom with a single white paw

Queens -

Icewing a light blue-gray she-cat mother of Troutstream's kits

Pikekit a brown tabby tom with lighter and darker stripes

Splashkit a blue-grey she-kit with white spots like splashes

Heronkit a blue grey tabby tom with light grey stripes

Brightsky a white and ginger tabby she-cat mother of Clearspirt's kits

* * *

**Wetpuddle. I literally just opened a warrior cat name generator and that's what I got. So, Yeah...**

* * *

**Whiteclaw, the first cat I killed. I don't know why. I just felt someone should die today. His death was random. Or was it...**

**Dun dun daaaaaaaaa**

**Anywho, I'm running out of ideas for cats. I used a name generator on most of these names. I mean Wetpuddle? Brightsky? Ok, Brightsky sorta makes sense, but Wetpuddle? WET PUDDLE! I get it a puddle is wet. **

**Guess the leader wasn't feeling creative that day.**

**What was the leader like? "****Wetpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Um, Wet, Wetpuddle. Yes, Wetpuddle." Did they see a puddle?**

**I'm sorry, I'm ranting about nonsense. **


	4. Ch 3 Ferret

"Ferretkit, get up." A paw poked his shoulder. "No," "Come on, you're gonna miss it." Harekit pressed. "Fine," Ferretkit sighed, sitting up. "What am I gonna," Ferretkit was cut off as Harekit pressed a paw to his mouth. "The patrol getting ready to leave." Ferretkit pushed away Harekit. "What patrol?" "The Riverclan patrol, they're gonna go teach Riverclan a lesson for taking our prey." Harekit skipped out of the den before Ferretkit could answer.

Ferretkit gave his chest a lick before following. He glanced around to see the brown tail tip of Hillpaw disappearing through the camp entrance. Harekit bounded over. "You missed them." Ferretkit rolled his eyes. 'I see that." He looked around again to see who went on the patrol. "Who went?" "Who went wh, oh. Um, Gorseclaw, Jumpstrike, Leafdapple." Harekit paused. "Mapleleaf, Cricketsong, Pouncepaw, and Hillpaw. Why?" "Just wondering." Ferretkit stood and streched enjoying the feeling of the sun on his pelt.

"Hey," Harekit suddenly whispered. "Let's follow them," "Follow who? The patrol? They're going out of camp, out of our territory even. Do you know how much trouble we will be in? Grounded, we probably won't even be apprentices till were 10 moons! Maybe 12!" "You didn't say no." Ferretkit sighed. "I guess someone should keep you out of trouble. We just won't follow the patrol." Harekit rolled his eyes. "Fine." Harekit jumped up. "Let's go catch a rabbit."

* * *

"Hare-dung." Harekit shook out his pelt and dust and dirt went flying. "Miss another one?" Ferretkit was sitting on a rock a few feet away from where Harekit had tried a pounce on a rabbit. "Yeah, it's hard. Why don't you try." "Maybe I will." Ferretkit jumped off the rock and stalked over to Harekit. He glanced around a saw a rabbit hole big enough for him to go down.

"There," Harekit pointed at a rabbit a few fox-lengths down the hill. How it had not seen them was a mystery. As Ferretkit crept up behind the rabbit a shadow fell over him. The screech of a hawk and a slight wind from its wings, and the rabbit and hawk were both a dot in the sky. "Ferretkit! Oh, my, Starclan! Did you see that!" Harekit bounded over, slipping and rolling the rest of the way down the hill. He rolled next to Ferretkit and jumped up.

"That was amazing! The hawk was like, Screech, and the rabbit was like Ahhh! That! Was! Amazing!" "It was amazing, what amazes me more is how you two are out of camp."

Ferretkit and Harekit both looked back to the top of the hill and sitting on the rock that Ferretkit was sitting on moments before was Flintskip. "Uh oh." Harekit's ears flicked back and he exchanged a glance with Ferretkit.

* * *

Ferretkit and Harekit followed Flintskip into camp heads down and tail dragging. "Ferretkit! Harekit!" Lightwatcher rushed over. "Just wait till your father hears about this." Lightwatcher sighed. "Are you ok? Do you need to see Barkdust?" She began checking them over. "No, I'm fine. But Ferretkit almost got picked up by a." Flintskip put his tail over Harekit's mouth effectively silencing him.

"Ferretkit tried to catch a rabbit. A hawk swooped down and grabbed it instead. He might have caught it too. His crouch was almost perfect." "A hawk!" Lightfeather screeched. If any cat wasn't paying attention before they certainly were now. Ashstar padded over followed by Barkdust. "What happened?" "Ferretkit almost got carried away by a hawk!" Harekit said proudly.

"Harekit, go to the nursery." "Well, I would like to check them for injuries." Barkdust put in. "Fine. Harekit, go with Barkdust. Ferretkit will go later." Harekit followed Barkdust to the medicine den, Ferretkit watching them go. "Ferretkit, wait here." Ashstar flicked his tail and turned, padding over to the tall rock. Lightwatcher and Flintskip followed as well.

He couldn't hear what they were saying but from what he could tell, Ashstar was mad that they left camp, Lightwatcher was relieved that they were ok, and Flintskip, Ferretkit couldn't tell what Flintskip was feeling. Lightwatcher nodded and padded over to Ferretkit. "Go see Barkdust, have him check you over." Lightwatcher turned and went back to the tall rock.

Ferretkit stood and padded over to the brambles were the medicine den was. "Barkdust?" Ferretkit poked his head in, being overwhelmed with the strong scent of herbs. "Ferretkit, come in, sit over there please." Barkdust flicked his tail at an empty nest and went back to sorting herbs. "Here we go," Barkdust grabbed a dock leaf and padded over to Harekit. "Let me see." Harekit lifted his paw and Ferretkit saw that there was a cut on the pad.

Barkdust placed the dock on the pad and wrapped it with cobwebs. "There, you're free to go," Harekit stood and bounced out of the den, yelling a thank you over his shoulder. Barkdust turned to Ferretkit. "Now, anything hurt?"

* * *

"Ashstar, please. I know he has to wait for a half-moon but please. Can I be Ferretkit's mentor?" Ashstar sighed. "I suppose so Flintskip. You can be Ferretkit's mentor." "Yes! Thank you Ashstar. I won't let you down." "Flintskip, wait." Ashstar hesitated. "I normally ask this to my deputy but, who do you think would be a good mentor to Harekit?"

"Harekit? Well, Harekit has boundless energy so he needs someone to calm him down. Rainstone?" "Why?" "Rainstones calm, and she could balance Harekit's energy." As Flintskip finished his sentence Harekit bounced out of the medicine den and tripped on his own tail. Ashstar nodded as he watched Harekit jump up and skip away. "I think that's a good match."

* * *

Ferretkit padded out of the medicine den and padded over to where Harekit was sitting. "Guess what?" Ferretkit sighed. "What?" "We won't be apprenticed." Harekit was interrupted as the patrol returned. Gorseclaw padded over to Ashstar and they had a brief discussion. Ashstar nodded and jumped up on the tall rock.

"All cats old enough to catch rabbits gather below tall rock for a clan meeting!" In a few seconds, the clan was gathered. "Windclan was successful, Riverclan won't steal Windclan's prey again." The clan cheered as Ashstar dismissed them.

* * *

**Windclan**

Leader - Ashstar a light grey tom with grey freckles

Deputy - Gorseclaw a dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Medicine cat - Barkdust a light brown tabby tom with blue eyes

Warriors

Jumpstrike a black tom with a white chest and belly

Flintskip a grey tom with darker grey freckles

Leafdapple a brown mottled she-cat with green eyes

Mapleleaf a red and dark brown mottled she-cat

Cricketsong a brown tom with darker legs and back

Apprentices

Hillpaw a red and brown tom with darker splashes

Pouncepaw a white tom with brown legs and back

Queens

Lightwatcher a pale golden and white patched she-cat

Ferretkit a brown tabby tom with a spirling stripe pattern

Harekit a light brown tom with white patches


	5. Ch 4 Lamb

Dawnpelt was across the camp, talking to Birchfall, Pebblestar, and Lichenfur. Blazerunner also started talking to them. Lambkit was sitting a tail length away but she could not hear them speak, as Lambkit was deaf.

Flamekit flicked her ear with his paw. Lambkit shook her head and turned to him, flicking him with her tail. Flamekit waved his tail in greeting and grinned. Flamekit knew that Lambkit was deaf as well as the rest of the clan. Flamekit and Lambkit learned to talk to each other with signals. Tail waves and ear flicks. After a while, they taught it to the rest of the clan. At least those who wanted to know.

_"_Hey, you ok_?" _Flamekit signaled

_"_Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Lambkit signed back.

_"_Well, They"re talking about how you might not be a warrior."

_"_What?" Lambkit glanced over at the group of cats and then back at her brother. "Why wouldn't I be?" Flamekit gestured to her ears. "Oh, So what? I could be just as great a leader as any of them. It"s just luck that I was born deaf." Flamekit rolled his eyes. "Luck huh." She glared at him. "I didn't have a flaw so Starclan gave me one." "Why did they give you one?" "I was too great without one."

"Sure, whatever you say." Lambkit batted his ear with her paw. "Hey, Mean." Flamekit pushed her away and bounded across the clearing. Lambkit got up to follow but a tail was placed over her shoulders. She looked up to the blue eyes of her mother. "Lambkit, come over here." Dawnpelt gestured with her tail.

* * *

"We were talking and," Blazerunner trailed off looking to his mate for help. "We thought that you shouldn't be a warrior." Lichenfur cut in. "What! Why? I could be a great warrior I just need more training than the other apprentices." Pebblestar shook his head. "I don't think anyone is willing to give you that extra training. Birchfall would be," "I don't want to be a medicine cat." Lambkit interrupted. "Ask again! Someone must want to train me!"

"No one wants to train a deaf apprentice," Lichenfur said bluntly. "No, someone must want to!" Lambkit lashed her tail as she glared at Lichenfur. "Just not here." Lambkit turned and raced away. Out of the camp.

* * *

Blindly choosing a path Lambkit ended up next to a tall wooden thing. She curled up in a patch of ferns and pulled her tail tighter around her, watching monsters go by through a crack. At least that's what she thought it was. It had the same sharp smell just like the elders said, so it has to be a thunderpath.

It got later and later, the sun falling past the trees of Thunderclan territory. After a while, another smell cut through the smell of the monsters and the two-leg place. The smell of another cat. Lambkit pressed herself deeper in the ferns of the two-leg den and watched as a black and white tom about her age jumped from the top of the wooden thing.

He had a red thing around his neck with a shiny round object attached to it. As the tom padded over to the two-leg den he glanced around before going in the den. Lambkit let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. _I won't ever be able to go to sleep here._ Lambkit thought as she glanced around. Her eyelids contradicted her as they slid closed.

* * *

A paw poked her side. Lambkit slowly lifted her head staring into the mismatched eyes of an unknown cat. Lambkit jumped backward, or she tried to. She ended up hitting her head. The floor of the object which she was in started tilting, sliding her and the tom toward the entrance. She ended up on a cold object, the tom being picked up by a two-leg and placed back where they came from.

Another two-leg reached over to pick her up. Lambkit hissed and flicked her ears back. The two-leg withdrew its paw.

* * *

**Chat PoV**

The she-kit hissed at the vet. What's wrong? They just want to help.

Josh started talking to the vet.

"Where did you find her?" "In the garden, under some bushes. Chat actually found her." The vet nodded. "I'll keep her here to do some tests to make sure she's healthy." The vet gently tried to pick up the she-cat and got scratched for her efforts. She finally picked her up by her scruff and took her into another room. "I'll be right back, wait here."

* * *

**Lambkit PoV**

The strange two-leg took me into another part of there den. How big is this place? She tried to struggle in its grip but she couldn't, it had her scruff. The two-leg placed her on a strange soft thing and closed a hatch, locking her in. The two-leg turned and left after checking on another cat in the thing next to her. The brown cat stared at her.

_"Hello, I'm Brownie, what's your name?" _Lambkit barely understood what the she-cat said, and it was only that she read the cat's lips that she understood at all. Lambkit gestured to her ears. The cat, Brownie, looked at her in confusion. "_What? Oh, you can't hear._" Brownie looked at her with sympathy.

"Where am I?" Lambkit mouthed. Brownie looked surprised. "The vets. Its where sick animals go to get better._" _Brownie replied. "The vets, what's this?" Lambkit flicked her tail at the metal thing surrounding them. "Its a cage, to prevent us from escaping before we get better." "And this?" Lambkit nudged the soft thing with a paw. "A blanket. You didn't tell me your name." "I'm Lambkit." "Lambkit," Brownie repeated. "You do look like a lamb from my house folks farm. I don't understand what the kit is for."

"House folk? Who are they?" "The people who care for you." "People?" "Like the vet, You do have house folk don't you?" Lambkit shook her head. The vet came in again and placed another cat in the cage next to Brownie. She closed the door and opened Lambkits, grabbing her scruff again. "Don't fight, it's ok," Brownie called after her.

The vet took her into another room, setting her on another blanket. The vet gently held her as she took her temperature, holding on to she scruff as she struggled. The vet checked her eyes and in her mouth. Finally, she checked her ears. The vet stood and shook her head. She wrote something down and took Lambkit back to her cage. The vet placed the paper on the outside of the cage and left.

"What does it say?" Brownie craned her neck to read it. "Lamb, Deaf, Needs surgery. And some other words I can't read." "Surgery?" "It helps you get better." Lambkit paced in her cage before settling down on the blanket. "Why are you here?" Lambkit suddenly asked. "My leg," Brownie shifted so that Lambkit could see the white thing wrapped around it. "It's broken, or was. It's healed now, I'm here so they can take the cast off." Lambkit nodded before setting her head on her paws, drifting asleep.

* * *

**Heres the clans, and other cats outside the clans.**

**Thunderclan**

Leader - Pebblestar a grey tom with darker spots like pebbles

Deputy - Lichenfur a grey long furred tom with grey-green eyes

Medicine cat - Birchfall a white she-cat with dark grey stripes

Warriors

Ripplestripe - a grey tabby she-cat with wavy stripes like ripples

Robinfern a dark ginger tom with green eyes

Redsplash a white she-cat with pale red patches

Otterwhisper a brown tom with white stripes, very calm, and quiet

Blazerunner a white tom with red and ginger stripes and green eyes.

Apprentices

Riverpaw a blue-grey tom with wavy stripes

Mintpaw a grey she-cat with darker grey paws, ear-tips, muzzle and tail-tip

Queens

Dawnpelt a light ginger she-cat with darker ginger stripes and amber eyes

Lambkit a white she-cat with light grey stripes, muzzle, paws, and blue eyes

Flamekit a ginger tom with darker ginger stripes and green eyes

Elders

Ambershine - a ginger she-cat with white paws, underbelly and amber eyes

**Windclan**

Leader - Ashstar a light grey tom with grey freckles

Deputy - Gorseclaw a dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Medicine cat - Barkdust a light brown tabby tom with blue eyes

Warriors

Jumpstrike a black tom with a white chest and belly

Flintskip a grey tom with darker grey freckles

Swiftfeather a white tom with black patches

Leafdapple a light brown she-cat with green eyes

Mapleleaf a red and dark brown mottled she-cat

Cricketsong a brown tom with darker legs and back

Apprentices

Hillpaw a red and brown tom with darker splashes

Pouncepaw a white tom with brown legs and back

Queens

Lightwatcher a pale golden and white patched she-cat

Ferretkit a brown tabby tom with a spirling stripe pattern

Harekit a light brown tom with white patches

**Riverclan**

Leader - Whiskerstar a blue-grey tom with a greying muzzle

Warrior

Stormstrike a grey tabby tom with darker grey stripes

Ambersplash a brown mottled she-cat

Troutstream a brown tabby tom with green eyes

Clearspirt a light grey tom with blue eyes

Snowtalon a black she-cat with white paws

Queens -

Icewing a light blue-gray she-cat mother of Troutstream's kits

Pikekit a brown tabby tom with lighter and darker stripes

Splashkit a blue-grey she-kit with white spots like splashes

Heronkit a blue-grey tabby tom with light grey stripes

Brightsky a white and ginger tabby she-cat mother of Clearspirt's kits

Elders

Wetpuddle a white tom with brown patches

**Shadowclan**

Leader - Maplestar a dark ginger she-cat with green eyes

deputy - Elmpelt a black tom with yellow eyes

Medicine cat - Dusklight a light grey tom with darker paws

Warriors

Rockspot a dark grey she-cat with lighter spots

Hollyflower a ginger tom with amber eyes

Ravenfern a grey tom with darker paws

Falconleap a brown tom with black patches

apprentices

Twistedpaw a black tom with a twisted paw

Queens

Mottlestream a white and grey mottled she-cat

Frostkit a white tom with grey splashes

Darkkit a black tom with dark grey paws, tail, and ears

Thrushspirit a dark brown she-cat with green eyes

Brackenkit a brown tabby tom with green eyes

Marshkit a brown and black tom with blue eyes

Turtlekit a mottled brown she-cat with green eyes

**Starclan**

Waspstrike a golden tabby tom with black stripes

Acorndawn a light brown she-cat with darker ears, paws, muzzle, and tail

Sparrowstrike a ginger and brown tom with white paws

Mistspirit a silver tabby she-cat with brown eyes

**Darkforest**

Yelloweye a light grey tangled, matted, patchy tom, crisscrossed with scars.

Splitmask a white and black she-cat with a scar across her face

Blizzardpaw a dark brown tabby with icy blue eyes

Kinktail a brown and ginger mottled tom with a broken tail

Rattail a brown tom with a light brown tail

**Kitty-pets**

Chat a black and white tom with one green and one blue eye, with a red collar

Brownie a brown tom with amber eyes and a black collar


	6. Ch 5 Dark

**A few moons after Darkkit was recruited**

* * *

"Have you been practicing?" Silverfang hissed in his apprentices face. Darkkit was used to his mentor treating him like fox-dung, so he didn't flinch. He nodded. "Yes, Silverfang." "And when are you becoming an 'actual' apprentice?" "Tomorrow, Silverfang." "Good, Dismissed." Silverfang flicked his tail and left. Darkkit sat there for a few moments before getting up and stretching.

It was rare for Darkkit to be here without a mentor. Time to make the most of it. Maybe he could find the other apprentices. One from each clan if he remembered correctly. As he padded through some ferns he caught a glimpse of grey eyes before the cat disappeared altogether. He stood there dumbfounded trying to figure out where the cat went before he was clawed across the ears.

He reeled back before the golden tabby could do it again. "Darkkit," Archleap hissed. "Spying are we?" "No, I was just wondering who the other apprentices are." Darkkit licked a paw and drew it over his ears. "Cocky, aren't we? It doesn't matter that Yelloweye made you an apprentice early. You don't get to know everything." Archleap turned and stalked away. "Who was that?" Darkkit called after him. He didn't get an answer. As he looked down at his paws he saw that he was fading.

* * *

Darkkit woke up, his brother was already gone. Darkkit wandered out if the nursery and over to his mother, where Frostkit was already getting groomed. "Oh Darkkit, Your fur's all messed up." Mottlestream pulled Darkkit closer, finished fixing Frostkit's fur, and started on him. "Hey, that's my ear!" Mottlestream accidentally turned his ear inside out. "Oh, I'm sorry. There I fixed it." Mottlestream gave his ear one last lick. "Done."

Darkkit pulled away from his mother and shook out his fur. Maplestar jumped up on the clan rock, surveying her clan. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Clanrock for a meeting!" In a few seconds, the clan was collected. "We are gathered here today for the appointing of new apprentices." Maplestar flicked her tail for Darkkit and Frostkit to step forward.

"Frostkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Frostpaw. Your mentor will be Ravenfern. I hope Ravenfern will pass down all she knows on to you." She turned to Ravenfern

"Ravenfern, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from Rockspot. You will be the mentor of Frostpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Frostpaw." Maplestar turned to Darkkit.

"Darkkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Darkpaw. Your mentor will be Elmpelt. I hope Elmpelt will pass down all he knows on to you."

"Elmpelt, you are ready for another apprentice. You have received excellent training from Gorsescar, and you trained Nutshade well. You will be the mentor of Darkpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Darkpaw." Frostpaw and Ravenfern touched noses and Darkpaw and Elmpelt did as well.

"Darkpaw! Frostpaw! Darkpaw! Frostpaw!" The clan cheered. "Darkpaw! Don't think you can leave us." Marshkit said. "We'll be joining you in a few moons," Brackenkit added. "I know, but until then you won't have to deal with Frostpaws snoring." Darkkit joked. "Hey," Frostpaw flicked Darkpaws ear with his paw. "Elmpelt," Darkpaw turned to his mentor. "What are we doing first?"

"Well, I was thinking we should go around the territory fIrst, then see if you can do more." "Why just the territory?" "It's your first-day Darkpaw, I don't want to wear you out." Elmpelt turned and padded to the entrance, flicking his tail for him to follow.

* * *

"See how almost all of the ground is sort of muddy?" Elmpelt asked.

"Yeah," Darkpaw stepped in a puddle by accident and shook his paw to get rid of the mud. "Well, not all of our territory is like that." They came to a grassy clearing, Where Frostpaw was already sitting, watching Ravenfern do a stalking technique. "This is mossy clearing, where we train apprentices in fighting and hunting. See the moss?"

Darkpaw looked around before finally shaking his head no. "I didn't my first time either. Look up," Elmpelt pointed up with his tail, and as Darkpaw looked he saw that there was moss, but it was hanging from the trees. "Woah, how does it do that?" Darkpaw reared up on his back legs and batted at a piece that came down a mouse length in front of his nose. Elmpelt chuckled. "I have no idea, but I do know that the two-legs call it Spanish moss. We call it hanging moss, and see how it only grows around the outside of the clearing?"

"Yeah, how does it do _that_?" "We did it, Shadowclan I mean. We took the moss from trees that we didn't want it on and moved it to the trees that we did. In doing so we created a natural curtain." As Elmpelt was talking he padded into the clearing, Darkpaw following. "Now, enough boring you with facts about the territory. I'm sure you want to know something other than that. A fighting move perhaps?"

Darkpaw sat up straighter, his undivided attention on Elmplet. Elmpelt laughed. "I'm gonna take that as a yes. Now, this is a front paw blow." Elmpelt raised his paw, bringing it down on an imaginary enemy. "You bring your front paw down, hard, on your opponent's head. Now you try." Darkpaw hesitated, Silverfang already taught him that move. Should he do it and show that he knows it or fake it? Darkpaw decided to do it.

As he lifted his paw another paw shot out and kicked his legs out from under him. "You took to long, in a battle you have to think quickly. Remember that for next time." Darkpaw stood and copied the move Elmpelt did. Elmpelt nodded. "Good, that was almost perfect. Do it again a few more times to make sure you got it then we'll do a hunting technique."

* * *

"Tuck your legs farther beneath you, turn that paw inward. Good. Now leap." Darkpaw did as he was told but ended up a mouse length away from the moss ball where he was aiming. "That was almost perfect, you just needed to jump a little farther. Try again, one more time then we'll call it a day." Darkpaw nodded and padded back to where he was, crouching again.

"Leap!" The command was so sudden that it startled him, but he still lept and landed on the moss ball. "You did it, good job." "Darkpaw, Darkpaw, guess what!" Frostpaw ran over to him. "What?" "I caught a mouse! Ravenfern said that she didn't catch some prey the first time she went hunting but I did! Isn't it great." Frostpaw turned and ran back to Ravenfern. "See you at camp!" He called over his shoulder.

"Someone's excited. Come on, let's go back to camp." Elmpelt started walking away. "Wait, Could I maybe catch something?" Elmpelt sighed. "I suppose you want to have something to show your brother. Let's go." Elmpelt turned and padded a different way than he was walking before.

* * *

"There," Elmpelt whispered, pointing at a squirrel. "Remember what I taught you, and don't swish your tail. It'll hit the bracken and make a noise." Darkpaw nodded, crouching. He stalked up behind the squirrel and lept for it.

Missing completely.

He gave chase, the squirrel going up a tree and diving into a hole. "Could I go up and," "Get it? No. It's gone Darkpaw. See?" He gestured to another hole in the tree where the squirrel was running out of. "The hole was just a decoy while it escaped. Come on, it's getting late. We should be getting back."

* * *

Darkpaw walked into camp, following Elmpelt. "Darkpaw, How'd it go?" Marshkit ran over, followed by Brackenkit and Turtlekit. "Frostpaw told us he caught a mouse. Did you catch anything?" "No, I didn't go hunting. I learned a battle move though." Elmpelt gave Darkpaw a sideways glance before padding over to the warriors den. "Can we see?" Brackenkit said. "Sure, it's called the front," "Kits, time for bed. Bother Darkpaw tomorrow. That is, if he has time to be bothered." Thrushspirit called.

The kits padded to the nursery, while Darkpaw padded to the apprentices den. "Hey Darkpaw, I made you a nest." Frostpaw flicked his tail at the nest next to his. The nests were in the back of the den far away from the entrance. Darkpaw curled up in his nest, exhausted from the days events. He fell asleep immediately. Hoping that Silverfang would forget about training tonight so he could sleep.


	7. Ch 6 Splash

**Guest (Polly) - You wanted to see Splashkit(Paw) again? Here you go. And thank you.**

* * *

Splashpaw woke with a start, the wounds on her flank still stinging from where Archleap had clawed her. Outside the apprentices den, she heard the sound of Riverclan getting ready to start the day. Pikepaw was gone, probably out with his mentor, Clearspirit. Heronpaw was still asleep, which makes sense since he has Stormstrike as his mentor. He pushes his apprentices hard, and he knows it. Ambersplash poked her head in the nursery.

"Splashpaw, I was just coming to wake you up. We're going to the Oak trees today for some tree climbing." Splashpaw yawned and followed her mentor. "What happened?" Ambersplash saw the claw marks, here we go. Lying time. "I'm not sure, I guess I got scratched by something." Splashpaw mentally kicked herself. Ambersplash won't buy that excuse, you fool. If Archleap we're here your ears would be bleeding.

Ambersplash looked over her wound. "It's probably from yesterday when you accidentally fell into the brambles. Even though it's partially healed, go see Mallowleaf. We don't want it to get infected." Splashpaw nodded, padding to the medicine cat den and almost running into Fennelpaw. "My apologies." Fennelpaw dipped his head. "I wasn't looking where I was going."

"I wasn't either," Splashpaw laughed. "Excuse me," Fennelpaw darted around her and over to Fintail. As they padded out of camp, Fennelpaw looked back over his shoulder at her grinning. Splashpaw smiled back and padded into the medicine cat den.

* * *

As Splashpaw padded behind her mentor her mind wandered. It wandered to Fennelpaw, making her ears red. It went to her apprentice training, before stopping on her Dark forest training, and the black tom that she got a glance of. "Splashpaw," She heard Ambersplash say. "Change of plans. We're battle training with Fennelpaw today." "What?" Splashpaw shook her head. "Oh, ok." Splashpaw nodded.

Fennelpaw stood at the side of the clearing, Fintail standing next to him. Splashpaw took her place across the clearing from him, Ambersplash next to her. Fintail called. "Ready?" "Ready," Splashpaw echoed. "Go!"

* * *

Ambersplash and Fintail led the way to camp, Fennelpaw and Splashpaw following.

"I'm worried about Splashpaw." "Why?" "That move that Splashpaw did." Finleap glanced at her then back to Ambersplash. "I haven't seen that move before. It seems like something Archleap or Mudstrike would do." "Mudstrike? I've heard of Archleap, every kit has. But Mudstrike I haven't." "Mudstrike was one of the best warriors of Riverclan. He was on his way to becoming the next leader."

"He, something happened. In a fight with a fox. It knocked him against a rock and they both fell into the river. We thought he would never return." Finleap looked up at the sky before looking back at Ambersplash. "He showed up a few moons later. He was mumbling to himself, and when he heard that he was replaced with Finchswoop he attacked him. Finchswoop didn't have a chance."

"He was dead within moments. Mudstrike had torn out his throat, no medicine cat could heal that. After," Finleap paused. "After, He went for Flowerstar. The clan fought him off, but he clawed Flowerstars belly before they could. He was killed and in Flowerstars final moments she named a new deputy so Riverclan would have a leader. Whiskernose."

"Whiskerstar now," Ambersplash added. Finleap nodded. "Yes, I was only a kit then. Seeing my father, dead on the ground. No kit should have to go through that." Ambersplash rested her tail on Finleaps back. "I'm sorry," They were at camp now. "It's ok." Finleap padded away, into the warriors den. Ambersplash hesitated a moment before following.

* * *

**Later**

"The cats going to the gathering are Mistledust, Ambersplash, Troutstream, Snowtalon, Icewing, Finleap, Stormstrike, Pikepaw, Splashpaw, Heronpaw, and Fennelpaw." Whiskerstar jumped down from the clan rock and padded to the entrance, the cats going to the gathering following.

* * *

Whiskerstar led the way across the tree bridge, and Riverclan padded into the clearing. Whiskerstar took his place in the tree among the other leader and Maplestar started the gathering. "The prey has been running well and we have two new apprentices. Frostpaw and Darkpaw!" The clans cheered their names. "Frostpaw! Darkpaw! Frostpaw! Darkpaw! Maplestar stepped back to allow Whiskerstar to step forward.

As Whiskerstar reported what had happened in Riverclan, Splashpaw looked over at Frostpaw and Darkpaw. Frostpaw was a white tom with grey splashes, and Darkpaw, Darkpaw was the cat in my dream! The clans shouted their names, startling her. "Pikepaw! Splashpaw! Heronpaw! Fennelpaw! Pikepaw! Splashpaw! Heronpaw! Fennelpaw!" After the cheers died down, Whiskerstar started speaking again. "Windclan did an unprovoked attack upon our camp. A new warrior died."

Ashstar stepped forward. "Riverclan has been stealing our prey!" He hissed back. "And why would we want your rabbits?" Whiskerstar growled, his tail lashing. "Remember the truce." A medicine cat called. Thunderclan's probably, from her scent. A few stray clouds hovered around the moon, almost as if they were waiting for something.

Pebblestar stepped in between the two leaders. "Birchfall is right. The truce is in effect." Ashstar glared at Whiskerstar before sitting back down. Whiskerstar doing the same. "Thunderclan has good news and bad news. We have one new apprentice, Flamepaw." "Flamepaw, Flamepaw!" "It would have been two new apprentices but Lambkit has disappeared." Pebblestar looked down at his paws before looking back up. "I ask you to keep an eye out for Lambkit. Please. She's a white she-cat with light grey stripes and blue eyes."

Pebblestar stepped back, the clans giving him and Thunderclan sad looks. Ashstar stepped forward. "We have two new apprentices, Ferretpaw and Harepaw." After the cheers stopped Ashstar leaped down from the tree, him and his clan leaving. The rest of the clans left as well.

* * *

**Well, there you go. There all apprentices now, excluding Lambkit of course. ****Who's your favorite character? It doesn't have to be one of the four. It could be like Pikepaw or Ashstar or Birchfall. Doesn't matter.**


	8. Ch 7 Ferret

"What are we doing today Iceclaw?" Ferretpaw stood and stretched waiting for what his dark forest mentor would say. "We're watching a fight." Iceclaw turned and padded away Ferretpaw following in confusion.

* * *

"What's happening?" Ferretpaw and Iceclaw had ended up in a clearing. A muddy puddle in the center, with a broken log off to the side. Yelloweye sat on top of the log. Ferretpaw had only met him once when he was doing an assessment. A scruffy tom jumped up next to Yelloweye. "First Fight." He called. "Oliveslip versus Swiftfang!" A light brown tom stepped out of the crowd when Oliveslip was called. A black and white tom stepped out into the center with Oliveslip when Swiftfang was called.

The cats, besides Oliveslip and Swiftfang, stepped to the sides of the clearing, leaving a space in the center. Oliveslip took his place on one side of the clearing, Swift fang on the other. "Claws out!" The tom next to Yelloweye called. "Teeth ready!" Swiftfang snarled showing larger than normal fangs. "Pay attention to how they fight, you might learn something." Iceclaw hissed in his ear. "Fight!"

Oliveslip launched himself at his opponent, trying to claw his flank. Swiftfang dodged kicking up mud in the process. Oliveslip attacked again, but this time Swiftfang jumped forward as well. They landed in a heap, fur flying. Swiftfang ended up on top, Oliveslip pinned below him. Swiftfang looked up at Yelloweye and Yelloweye nodded his head. Swiftfang bared his teeth and tore out Oliveslip's throat.

"That was quick, Swiftfang wins." The tom said. Ferretpaw wasn't paying attention. He was staring at Oliveslip's body, it was fading like he did when he left the Dark Forest. Iceclaw pushed him into the clearing. Across from him was a black tom with amber eyes. At a second glance, he wasn't all black. He had dark grey paws, tail, and ears.

"Second Fight! Darkpaw of Shadowclan versus Ferretpaw of Windclan! Remember, in this fight no killing. We don't want our apprentices to join our ranks to early." The scruffy tom joked. "Claws out! Teeth ready! Fight!" The tom yowled.

Darkpaw launched himself at his opponent. Mud was kicked onto the surrounding cats as the two toms wrestled on the ground. Darkpaw swiftly pinned down the brown tom with front paws pressed into Ferretpaw's chest. Ferretpaw used his hind legs to thrust Darkpaw off of him. The black tom landed not far. Ferretpaw, using this moment, tackled the dazed tom and pinned him. For only a second. The other tom went limp as if he had given up and after a second lurched up and pushed him off. Ferretpaw jumped back away from Darkpaw as he lunged for him.

What's the matter, Ferretpaw? Too scared to face me?" Darkpaw sneered.

Ferretpaw let out a snarl as he swiped at Darkpaw's muzzle. The black tom dodged the attack and sneered.

"Nice try, slowpoke, but now it's my turn!" Darkpaw smirked and then released a fury of swipes, which all landed on their target's face. Shaking the stars from his vision, Ferretpaw dodged the next blow and kicked up mud into Darkpaw's face. Now that he had Darkpaw blinded, Ferretpaw quickly shoved him to the ground and swiftly pinned him down, his paws on Darkpaw's shoulders.

"Who's a slowpoke now, Darkpaw?" Ferretpaw teased.

"Ferretpaw wins!" The scruffy gray tom called. "Let him up," He added. Ferretpaw let Darkpaw up and Darkpaw hissed. "You'll pay for that." "Hey, hey, hey." A white she-cat pushed herself in between them before Darkpaw could attack Ferretpaw again. "Your fight is over, it's another cat's turn. Go back to your mentors." Ferretpaw turned and padded over to Iceclaw, Darkpaw padding in the opposite direction.

"Fight Three, Lamb versus Splashpaw of Riverclan! No killing in this fight either!" The white cat that had stopped Darkpaw from attacking him pushed another white cat into the clearing. A blue-grey she-cat with white spots stood at the opposite side. "Good idea with the mud," Iceclaw growled as he watched the two she-cats leap at each other. "Wouldn't have thought of that." "Who's that." Ferretpaw pointed with his tail at the grey tom sitting next to Yelloweye. "Smokeblaze." Iceclaw's dark blue eye's watched as the cat named Lamb was pinned.

"Splashpaw wins! Fight four! Fogwhisper versus Hickoryshade. Killing reestablished." A dusky brown tabby tom stepped into the clearing with a light gray she-cat with white flecks stood across from him. As the fight started Iceclaw flicked his shoulder with his tail and gestured into the dark forest. Ferretpaw followed him with the screams and howls of the cats behind them following as well.

* * *

The came to another clearing, much smaller than the last clearing they were in. Darkpaw, Splashpaw, and Lamb were sitting there too. As well as their mentors, or who Ferretpaw thought were their mentors. There was a grey tabby tom sitting next to Darkpaw, a golden tabby next to Splashpaw, and the white she-cat who stopped Darkpaw from attacking him next to Lamb.

"Are we all here?" The grey tabby growled. "We're waiting for Yelloweye." The white she-cat purred. "Why not we do introductions?" The other mentors exchanged glances. "I guess," Iceclaw grumbled. "I'm Iceclaw." He unsheathed his claws, digging them into the dirt. "Archleap." The golden tabby flicked his tail impatiently. "Snowfall." The white she-cat said. "Silverfang." "And I'm Yelloweye. Although I'm sure you all knew that." Yelloweye sat in the shadow of a tree.

"Welcome apprentices, This is the first time you have all met each other. So I hope the introductions helped." Yelloweye turned to Ferretpaw. "You are acceptable," He turned to Darkpaw. "Train harder," He turned to Splashpaw. He didn't say anything, just nodded. Yelloweye lastly turned to Lamb. "You are acceptable as well." Lamb nodded.

Ferretpaw's vision started to fade and he saw that the other apprentices have started to fade as well. He woke up in his nest, the faint smell of the Dark Forest still on his fur.

* * *

**Yep. Killed another cat. Rip Oliveslip. 2019 - 2019. **

**Poor Darkpaw, missed his squirrel, lost his battle against Ferretpaw, even Yelloweye disapproves of him.**


	9. Ch 8 Lamb

Lamb woke up in her box, the fresh claw marks along her back still stinging. She got up and padded over to the dish of rainwater on the side of the building. As she weaved her way through the boxes, her nose picked up the different smells of the market getting ready to begin the day. Fresh mice over at Nimbus's. The smell of catnip at Splatter's. Lamb's favorite place though was Ghost's. She always had the best trinkets, at least that's what Ghost called them. If it wasn't for Ghost she wouldn't even be here. She would still be at the vets. The friendly hellos of the cats greeting each other echoed through the old building as Lamb made her way back to her den, thinking about how Ghost had saved her.

* * *

Lamb, Lambkit then, was trapped in the stupid cage thing. Brownie had left, no, had been taken home. The vet came in, taking a golden she-cat from the cage across from her, before leaving. She heard dogs in another room, and from the small window up on the back wall, it's pretty late. The room was turned orange by the sunset. Lamb couldn't fall asleep today. She lay there awake for what seemed like a moon. As she finally started to drift off a small noise startled her awake.

A pale gray cat about her age wiggled their way through the window, falling to the floor. Lamb watched the cat make their way across the floor, stopping at a cage in the corner. "Sunny," The cat whispered. "Sunny," The cat called again. Lamb wasn't used to being able to hear so when the cat spoke she flinched. "Who are you looking for?" Lamb asked. "A friend." The gray cat looked up at her. "How old are you?" "7 moons, why?" The gray cat jumped up next to her cage. The cat looked her over. "You haven't been fixed yet, have you." "Fixed?"

"I'm gonna take that as a no." The gray cat messed with something on the outside of her cage. A click, then a part of the cage swung open. "Do you have house-folk?" The gray cat asked. "No," Lamb jumped down next to the cat. "Come with me then, to the market. You can live there if you want. I'm Ghost by the way." Ghost turned to look around the room one last time. "I guess Sunny's not here anymore."

"What's the Market?" Ghost jumped up on the window ledge. "I'll explain on the way. Come on."

* * *

"The Market is in an old warehouse. It's where cats go to trade things they don't need for things they need. Like a few herbs for a mouse. Or a mouse for some catnip." Ghost led the way through some bushes. "I didn't get your name." "Lambkit." "Hmm, get rid of the kit part. And you're good." "Lamb?" "Yep, grab that gold thing right there, and come on." Lamb grabbed the gold thing that Ghost pointed to and followed her in.

"Welcome to the market." There were asle of boxes, each one having a cat in it. Some selling things others were dens. There was a blue-grey tom selling mice, a white she-cat with brown patches selling catnip, and next to Ghost's box a black tom selling some type of fruit. There were also some small trees growing in the random patches of dirt. "Hey Ghost, Who's your friend?" "Hey Trigger, This is Lamb. She's new around here." "Oh well then, Hello Lamb and Welcome to the Forest house." "Forest house?" Lamb looked at him in confusion.

"Oh, Right. I haven't explained that yet. There are four old warehouses. Come on." Ghost jumped up on a ledge and then another, making her way to the roof. "There are four warehouses, the Forest house, the Moor house, the Night House, and the River house. Each one is in a different part of the city. You can just see the top of the Moor house over there." Ghost pointed to a faraway building with a glass roof.

"Each one sells different things. The River house sells fish and things you could get from the river. The moor house sells rabbits, and the Night house sells lizards and frogs. Each of the houses also sells some of the same things. Like herbs. And cats can also live here as well." Ghost turned and went back down to the ground.

"Forest house is the best of course." Trigger said when they padded back over. Ghost rolled her eyes. "Of course you would say that. You practically grew up here." Trigger laughed. "Yeah. Hey Lamb, do you want to try a strawberry?" "What's a strawberry?" Trigger grabbed one of the red berries in his box and pushed it to her. "That's a strawberry." Lamb caught herself staring at Trigger's paws, they each have an extra toe!

Trigger caught her staring. He raised his paw and gave the two-leg like "thumb" a wiggle. "Isn't it cool? I know no other cat with a toe like mine." Lamb felt her ears turning red in embarrassment from staring. "So, that's a strawberry. What's it taste like?" "Like a strawberry." Trigger said. "That doesn't make any sense Trigger." Ghost called from her box.

"What do you trade?" Lamb asked as she bent to take a bite of the strawberry. "Trinkets, whatchamacallits, two-leg things basically. You still have that golden thing right?" "Oh, um. I set it right next to the curly brownish silver things." "The leapers. Great toys for kits." Ghost grabbed the golden thing and a leaper. She set the golden thing down at the back and came up next to Lamb with the leaper.

"You set it like this," Ghost set it upright. "And you press down and let go." She let the leaper go and it jumped up in the air, landing a fox length away. "Huh, that's cool." "Yep." Ghost yawned. "Why am I so tired?" "It's after closing?" Trigger suggested. "Yeah, probably. Oh! I need to find you a place to stay." Ghost turned to Lamb. "Don't worry Ghost, I'll do it." Trigger volunteered. "Would you? Thanks!" She grabbed the leaper and walked back to her box.

Ghost yawned again and padded in her box carrying the leaper with. "Good night!" She called over her shoulder. "Good night!" Lamb called back. "This way, Wordsworth might have a den for you." "Wordsworth?" "He's the leader. Or like the leader." They stopped in front of a small gray cat. "Wordsworth." Trigger called. "Wordsworth!" Trigger called louder. "What? Oh sorry Trigger, I was asleep. What can I do for you?" "We need a place to stay for Lamb, she's new here."

"Lamb?" Wordsworth turned to her. "Oh Lamb, hello and Welcome to the forest house," Wordsworth spoke through a yawn. "I think there might be a few boxes by the back. Happy hunting." Wordsworth put his head back down on his paws and fell asleep.

Trigger rolled his eyes. "Come on." Trigger turned and padded back the way they came. They ended up next to an empty box. "How about this one?" "This one's good. Thank you." "Your welcome." Trigger dipped his head. He turned and went back to his den, leaving Lamb to get settled in her den.

* * *

**The "leaper's" a spring. Just in case you couldn't figure out what it was.**


	10. Ch 9 Dark

"Brackenkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Brackenpaw. Your mentor will be Falconleap. I hope Falconleap will pass down all he knows on to you."

"Falconleap, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from Addershade. You will be the mentor of Brackenpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Brackenpaw."

"Marshkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Marshpaw. Your mentor will be Specklewish. I hope Specklewish will pass down all she knows on to you."

"Specklewish, you are ready to take on another apprentice. You have received excellent training from Flametalon. You will be the mentor of Marshpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Marshpaw."

"Turtlekit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Turtlepaw. Your mentor will be Rockspot. I hope Rockspot will pass down all she knows on to you."

"Rockspot, you are ready to take on another apprentice. You have received excellent training from Ashwhisper. You will be the mentor of Turtlepaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Turtlepaw."

"Brackenpaw! Marshpaw! Turtlepaw! Brackenpaw! Marshpaw! Turtlepaw!" The clan cheered. As Darkpaw went over to congratulate the new apprentices he saw a flicker of silver out of the corner of his eye. As he looked his eyes met with Silverfang's yellow-green ones. Silverfang's eyes narrowed as he faded away, a snarl etched across his face.

"Before you leave I have two more announcements. Twistedpaw, step forward."

"Daystreak, would you say that your apprentice, Twistedpaw, learned the skills of a warrior? Do they understand the importance of the warrior code?

"He has. Maplestar."

Then, I, Maplestar, leader of Shadowclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as a warrior in their turn."

"Twistedpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Twistedpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Twistedfoot. StarClan honors your Dedication, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Shadowclan."

"Twistedfoot, Twistedfoot."

Maplestar waited until the clan stopped cheering. "Now for the other announcement. Since we have so many cats. And new ones on the way." Maplestar added with a nod to Mottlestream. "We have more cats than the other clans, so we are going to ask for some of there territory."

"And if they refuse?" Hollyflower asked.

"We take it by force. Go to Elmpelt for your assignments."

"Thrushspirit, Hollyflower, Pinegaze, and Falconleap. Go to the Thunderclan border to ask for some of there territory. And take your apprentice." The cats that Elmpelt said left, Brackenpaw following. "Aldershadow, Rosefur, Ravenfern, and I will go to the Riverclan border to ask for some of there territory. Darkpaw as well." Elmpelt added.

* * *

The smell of Riverclan assaulted Darkpaw's nose. He wrinkled up his nose in disgust. "It's only going to get worse from here," Ravenfern said. "We don't have to wait long, the sun-high patrol will be coming soon," Rosefur added.

"Elmpelt," A ginger tom stepped out of the bushes on Riverclan's side. "Tigerwing," "May I ask what Shadowclan is doing so close to the border?" A brown mottled she-cat stood behind Tigerwing, with a blue-grey tabby and a brown tom. Splashpaw was also there.

"We have more cats than the other clans, so we are asking for some of your territory." Tigerwing choked out a laugh. "Riverclan? Give you some of our territory? In the middle of leaf-fall? Shadowclan must be going crazy."

"If we don't get some of your territory, we will take it by force!" Elmpelt leaped for Tigerwing, Rosefur going for the mottled brown she-cat. Aldershadow tussled with the blue-grey tabby and Ravenfern exchanged blows with Splashpaw.

The brown tom tried to claw his side but Darkpaw dodged. The tom reminded hin of the brown tom he fought before. Ferretpaw. Darkpaw filled with rage, he won't lose again. Darkpaw launched himself at the tom dragging his claws down his side. He jumped back before the other tom could retaliate. He leaped on top of the toms back, biting his scruff. Aldershadow chased off the blue tabby and went to help Elmpelt.

The brown tom rolled, trying to knock Darkpaw off. Darkpaw let go, and when the tom landed on his back Darkpaw leaped on his belly, pinning him down. "This is Shadowclan's territory now." He hissed in his ear. "Got that?" He snarled. The brown tom nodded. Darkpaw let him up and sent the brown tom running with a bite to the tail.

He whirled to help his clanmates but found them chasing off the rest of the Riverclan patrol. Tigerwing stopped before snarling at Elmpelt. "Don't expect the next time to be so easy." He turned and ran, leaving the shadowclan patrol cheering.

"We need to scent mark," Darkpaw said. "No, we'll scent mark later, they might come back with reinforcements," Aldershadow stated. "We'll go back to camp and inform Maplestar of our victory, then we'll come back with more cats to scent mark in case they try to retaliate."

* * *

As they padded back into camp Dusklight padded over with a mouth full of herbs. "Any wounds?" "A couple of scratches and Aldershadow has a bite on his shoulder," Elmpelt said as he padded to Maplestar's den. Dusklight nodded and he started fixing the wound on Aldershadow's shoulder. After he stopped he went on to Ravenfern, then Rosefur.

He finally got to Darkpaw and as he was treating a claw wound on his flank Maplestar and Elmpelt padded out of Maplestar's den. "There, you're good to go." Darkpaw stepped away from Dusklight and padded over to his brother. "Hey, how'd it go," Frostpaw asked. "It went ok," Darkpaw said as he watched the Thunderclan border patrol appear through the thorn tunnel. Hollyflower bounded over to Maplestar as Elmpelt got his injuries looked at.

After they talked for a while Maplestar nodded and jumped up on the tree branch. "Shadowclan, The Riverclan patrol was successful. We will send a patrol of cats to mark the new border. Unfortunately, the Thunderclan patrol didn't have the same success that the other patrol had."

"We will take two patrols to mark the Riverclan border, the first I will lead and will have Rockspot, Thrushspirit, Aldershadow, Twistedfoot, and Rosefur. The second patrol will be back up if the first patrol needs it. That patrol is Hollyflower, Specklewish, Pinegaze, Ravenfern, Darkpaw, and Frostpaw and will be led by Elmpelt."

Maplestar jumped down flicking her tail to signal her patrol to follow. After they left Elmpelt took his patrol as well.

* * *

**So I probably need a schedule for updating so I'll try for every Wednesday and Saturday.**


	11. Ch 10 Splash

**Sorry I didn't update Saturday. It was Thanksgiving weekend so that should speak for itself.**

* * *

Splashpaw trailed behind her patrol, bored out of her mind. "Splashpaw," Ambersplash fell back from where she was walking with Finleap to walk next to her. "Test time, what do you smell?" "The border markers, Shadowclan's and Riverclan's. Shadowclan's is stronger than normal." "And what could that mean?" "That a patrol has just passed?" "Yes, or that we might meet a patrol."

They paused in a clump of bushes. Tigerwing stepped forward with the rest of the patrol following a moment later. "Elmpelt." "Tigerwing," A black Shadowclan tom answered. "May I ask what Shadowclan is doing so close to the border?" In the Shadowclan patrol, there were 5 cats. a ginger-and-brown tabby tom with white markings. A longhair ginger-and-white she-cat. A grey tom with darker paws. The cat Tigerwing had called Elmpelt, and...

Darkpaw.

"We have more cats than the other clans, so we are asking for some of your territory." Darkpaw's amber eyes met Splashpaw's grey ones. Tigerwing choked out a laugh. "Riverclan? Give you some of our territory? In the middle of leaf-fall? Shadowclan must be going crazy."

"If we don't get some of your territory, we will take it by force!" Elmpelt roared as he leaped for Tigerwing. Ambersplash fought the ginger and white tabby she-cat, and Finleap got his muzzle clawed by the ginger and brown tom. A grey tom tried to claw her muzzle just as the other tom had done to Finleap. She dodged and clawed him right back. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Darkpaw fighting Fennelpaw, she couldn't tell who was winning.

If only they were fighting by water, Shadowclan would be running with there tails tucked in between there legs. Splashpaw's ears stung as the tom got in a hit. She hissed as he swept her legs out from under her as well. She hit the ground. No, correction her body hit the ground, her head hit a rock. Splashpaw's head spun as she stood and saw 2 of the grey tom she was supposed to be fighting.

The tom clawed her flank and Splashpaw retreated, following her mentor. Behind her, she heard Tigerwing snarl. "Don't expect the next time to be so easy."

* * *

Whiskerstar was talking with Finleap when they got back to camp. "What happened?" Heronpaw padded up to her Pikepaw following. "Border attack, Shadowclan wants some of our territory." Splashpaw licked the claw mark on her flank. "Well, we won't give them any." Pikepaw hissed. "Calm Pikepaw, Be calm." Mallowleaf had padded over as well. "Do I need to get out the thyme?" "No Mallowleaf," Pikepaw dipped his head in embarrassment. "Let me look at your wounds." Mallowleaf turned to Splashpaw.

"Nothing that won't heal," Mallowleaf commented as she placed horsetail and cobwebs on her wounds. "You need to rest for a few days, to give you time to heal." "What! No! Riverclan needs me, they need every able-to-fight warrior!" "And you're not one of them. Your head is the worst wound that you have, you can still hunt but no battles. We don't need it to get worse."

Mallowleaf turned and padded back to her den. Heronpaw and Pikepaw gave her pitying glances before walking over to their mentors.

Whiskerstar nodded at Finleap and Tigerwing's report, turning and jumping up on the old tree stump.

"Let all cats old enough to swim gather to hear my words! Shadowclan has taken some of our territory!" The clan howled in outrage. "They attacked our patrol, and we will not stand for this!" "We will take back our land!" Tigerwing added. "The cats going to fight are Elmpelt, Stormstrike, Ambersplash, Rookscar, Mossshade, Hollowheart, Troutstream, Icewing, Clearspirt, Snowtalon, Pikepaw, and Heronpaw."

"I will go first, try to reason with Maplestar. If I can't then you attack." Whiskerstar jumped down and walked to the entrance of the camp, the cats he named following. Splashpaw stayed where she was, watching her clan-mates leave. "Hey, cheer up. I'm here too." Fennelpaw sat next to her. "And Fintail," He added. "I guess," Splashpaw stood and padded to the medicine cat den, hoping that Mallowleaf would give her a poppy seed for her headache.

* * *

**Pikepaw PoV**

Pikepaw padded beside his mentor and brother, anxious for the coming battle. "Do you think we'll win?" Heronpaw asked. "I don't think even Starclan knows that Heronpaw," Clearspirit answered. "I think we will," Heronpaw said as he jumped over a root in his path. "Perhaps we will, I like your enthusiasm."

Whiskerstar stopped the patrol, making sure they were hidden before stepping out of the bushes and into the clearing. "Maplestar," "Whiskerstar," Pikepaw heard Maplestar reply. "Doesn't Shadowclan have enough territory?" "No, we have the most cats of all of the clans so we need the biggest territory." "Are you sure Maplestar? Couldn't you take Thunderclan territory instead?" "We tried, So we're taking yours. Shadowclan Attack!"

"Riverclan! To me!" Pikepaw jumped out of the bushes and tackled a black tom, Heronpaw helping. The tom tried to swipe at Heronpaw's muzzle but he dodged. Pikepaw saw that the tom had a twisted paw that he favored. Pikepaw lunged for the tom changing where he was aiming at the last second. He was originally aiming at the toms chest so when the tom raised his paw to block, Pikepaw knocked out his twisted paw from under him.

The tom fell, and Heronpaw leaped on him, getting kicked off moments later. Pikepaw sank his teeth into the tom's paw and held on. The tom screamed as he tried to run. Pikepaw let him go, Heronpaw chasing him for a few mouse-lengths before turning back. Few Shadowclan warriors were left, Maplestar among them. "Elmpelt!" Maplestar called.

At the call, a patrol of shadowclan warriors came rushing in the battle. The remaining Shadowclan warriors fought with renewed force. Pikepaw jumped on a white Shadowclan apprentice that was running past. The rolled for a few mouse lengths before coming to a stop, Pikepaw on top. He dragged his claws down the white tom's belly staining his fur red.

The tom screamed, and as Pikepaw was about to chase him away he was blindsided by a black blur. It knocked him off his paws and he felt it sink its claws in his belly. As he scrambled to get away Heronpaw leaped on the tom holding him down and bit his leg. The tom kicked him in the face, and Heronpaw let go. There were few Riverclan cats left now.

Heronpaw got his chest clawed and he clawed the tom right-back or tried to. The tom just pushed him away. "Leave," The tom hissed. "Never," Pikepaw hissed back. He leaped for the tom and he met him in mid-air. They came crashing down with the black tom on top. "I said Leave." "Pikepaw, maybe we should go," Heronpaw looked uneasy, and as Pikepaw looked around he could see why. Riverclan had lost, and the rest of the Shadowclan patrol was glaring at them.

Pikepaw hissed at the Shadowclan cats as they let them pass. Heronpaw paused and looked back at Maplestar "We need this territory just as much as you do." He turned and followed Pikepaw back to camp.


	12. Ch 11 Ferret

"All cats old enough to catch rabbits gather beneath Tallrock for a clan meeting!" Ferretpaw had just walked through the entrance to the camp, a rabbit swinging from his jaws. He deposited the rabbit and went to sit by Hillpaw and Pouncepaw.

"Hillpaw, step forward."

"I, Ashstar, leader of Windclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as a warrior in their turn."

"Hillpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," Hillpaw said.

"Pouncepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do, Ashstar."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names. Hillpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Hillleap. StarClan honors your speed and Patience, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Windclan. Pouncepaw, from this moment on you will be known as Pouncestrike. StarClan honors your Thoughtfulness and Fighting Skill, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Windclan."

"Hillleap! Pouncestrike! Hillleap! Pouncestrike!"

Ferretpaw woke in his nest, cold sweat dripping off his fur. He didn't understand, he had that dream every few days since they were made warriors and every time the clan cheered their names he woke up like it was a bad dream. This one was the worst so far. He was soaked in sweat this time, and his fur felt hot. He stood and padded out of the apprentice den.

The night air felt nice on his hot fur. He shook out his fur and padded past Cricketsong with a nod. "Bad dream?" "How could," "I've had a few. Just make sure your back before the moon sets." Ferretpaw nodded. "Will do,"

* * *

Ferretpaw came back into camp, flinching as a scream came from the nursery. He placed the bird he caught on the prey pile and went over to Harepaw. "Mapleleaf's having her kits," Harepaw said as Ferretpaw sat down. "I noticed." "Two she-cats and a tom." Barkdust padded out of the nursery and Cricketsong ran in. "Wanna go say hi?" Harepaw asked. "Sure,"

Harepaw stood and started to walk over, being stopped by Ferretpaw's tail. "What?" "We should wait, we might have more important things to do first." "Yes, you do." Flintskip sat next to them. "Ferretpaw, could you take a rabbit to Mapleleaf and then one to the elders." "Sure, do you want me to do anything after?" "Yes, meet me at the training grounds." Ferretpaw nodded and grabbed the bird that he placed on the prey pile earlier.

He took it to the nursery and gave it to Mapleleaf. "Thank you Ferretpaw, would you like to meet the kits?" Ferretpaw nodded and Mapleleaf pointed to the biggest kit, a ginger she-cat. "This is Applekit," The second kit was a light brown tabby tom with one brown leg. "Driftkit," The final kit was a light ginger she-cat with darker patches. "And Flowerkit."

"They're very nice." Ferretpaw dipped his head in farewell and grabbed a rabbit from the prey pile and took it to Crookedleg and Hailstalk. "Ferretpaw," Hailstalk greeted. "Hailstalk," He nodded to her. "Crookedleg." He added with a nod to the other elder. He set the rabbit between them and turned to go. "Wait, you liked to hear our stories when you were little. Let's hear one of yours." "If you're not to busy that is," Crookedleg added. Ferretpaw shook his head. "No, sorry I have to meet Flintskip at the grounds."

* * *

Flintskip and Rainstone were waiting at the training grounds, Harepaw as well. "Now that Ferretpaw is here we will be learning how to run." "But Flintskip, we already know how to run." "Do you know how to run with your eyes closed?" Harepaw dipped his head in embarrassment "No," "That's what we are learning, see that rock over there?" Rainstone nodded at a rock about 10 fox lengths away. "You are racing to that rock."

"Eyes closed?" "No not this time. But Flintskip and I will be hiding trying to attack you to make our apprentice win." "Like attack, attack?" "No, just trying to knock you off course, Ready?" Flintskip asked. "Set," Rainstone added. "Go!" Ferretpaw and Harepaw both started running. Ferretpaw heard a rustle in the grass next to him a ducked, Rainstone leaping over his head. Harepaw wasn't as lucky, he tripped and went sprawling. Ferretpaw almost made it Rainstone tackled him at the last second. "I won!" Harepaw cheered from the top of the rock.

"Yep, good job dodging Ferretpaw." Rainstone congratulated. "Now we're going to do it with your eyes closed." Ferretpaw closed his eyes and Harepaw did the same. "Go!" Ferretpaw felt Harepaw take off next to him before tripping on his own paws. Ferretpaw started out slow, getting faster as he got more confident. He heard a noise in the grass and ducked, a breeze going over his head. He raced forward and felt his front paws touch the rock that he was aiming for. "Did I win?" Ferretpaw opened his eyes to see Harepaw a few tail lengths behind.

"You won," Flintskip said. "Good job dodging Rainstone." A raindrop splattered across Ferretpaw's muzzle. A flash of lightning danced across the sky and Harepaw flinched. He was always scared of storms. A hunting patrol ran past, Swiftfeather in the lead. "Storm's approaching fast, going to be a bad one. Get to camp." Or at least that's what Ferretpaw thought he said. Since the wind had picked up it really sounded like, "Storm, fast, bad one, camp."

Flintskip nodded and they joined the patrol, just getting into camp as the clouds overhead broke. "Get into your dens!" Gorseclaw howled over the wind. Ferretpaw ducked into the apprentices den and curled up in his nest, watching the rain with Harepaw.


End file.
